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He called for a few moments, just to leave a piece of paper on the table. (Page 98)
Charles Edmund Brock
1906
13 by 8.3 cm (5 by 3 ¼ inches), framed, facing p. 98.
Austens's Emma, Part I.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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“Why will not you write one yourself for us, Mr. Elton?” said she; “that is the only security for its freshness; and nothing could be easier to you.”
“Oh no! he had never written, hardly ever, any thing of the kind in his life. The stupidest fellow! He was afraid not even Miss Woodhouse” — he stopt a moment — “or Miss Smith could inspire him.”
The very next day however produced some proof of inspiration. He called for a few moments, just to leave a piece of paper on the table containing, as he said, a charade, which a friend of his had addressed to a young lady, the object of his admiration, but which, from his manner, Emma was immediately convinced must be his own.
“I do not offer it for Miss Smith’s collection,” said he. “Being my friend’s, I have no right to expose it in any degree to the public eye, but perhaps you may not dislike looking at it.”
The speech was more to Emma than to Harriet, which Emma could understand. There was deep consciousness about him, and he found it easier to meet her eye than her friend’s. He was gone the next moment: — after another moment’s pause,
“Take it,” said Emma, smiling, and pushing the paper towards Harriet — “it is for you. Take your own.”
But Harriet was in a tremor, and could not touch it; and Emma, never loth to be first, was obliged to examine it herself. [Chapter 9, pp. 97-99]
To Miss————
My first displays the wealth and pomp of kings,
Lords of the earth! their luxury and ease.
Another view of man, my second brings,
Behold him there, the monarch of the seas!
But ah! united, what reverse we have!
Man’s boasted power and freedom, all are flown;
Lord of the earth and sea, he bends a slave,
And woman, lovely woman, reigns alone.
Thy ready wit the word will soon supply,
May its approval beam in that soft eye! [99]
The illustrator immediately piques the reader's interest in the contents of the note and Mr. Elton's motivation in delivering it. In this chapter, Harriet Smith compiles a riddle book, to which Emma encourages Mr. Elton to contribute; however, Mr. Elton insists that the single-page note that he places on the Regency table is not an offering for Harriet's collection (indicated by the book on the able) since he is not the author.
The scene is the parlour at Hartfield. Apart from the visitor (Elton), Emma Woodhouse is prominent, positioned in the right foreground, by the table, whereas very much in the rear is Harriet, the apparent recipient of the "riddle," which Emma incorrectly solves. Emma's self-confidence contrasts sharply with Harriet's shyness and puzzlement. Also in the frame (in two senses) is the portrait of the young lady by the fireplace: but this is Harriet again, in the likeness of her that Elton had taken to Mr. Street in London for framing in Chapter 7, to ingratiate himself with Emma — a ploy that has only compounded the confusion over the true object of his affections.
Austen, Jane. Emma. Ed. R. Brimley Johnson. With coloured illustrations by C. E. and H. M. Brock. 2 vols. The Novels and Letters of Jane Austen. New York & Philadelphia: Frank S. Holby, 1906.
Created 3 April 2026